Tuner circuit with an inter-chip transmitter and method of providing an inter-chip link frame

ABSTRACT

A tuner circuit includes a digital signal processor to generate a digital data stream related to a radio frequency signal and a transceiver circuit coupled to the digital signal processor and configurable to generate an inter-chip communication frame having a start portion and a plurality of channels. The plurality of channels includes a first data channel to carry a portion of the digital data stream and a control channel to carry control data. The transceiver circuit is configurable to send the inter-chip communication frame to an additional tuner circuit through an inter-chip communication link.

FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to a tuner circuit with an inter-chip transmitter and method of providing an inter-chip link frame.

BACKGROUND

In mobile radio receivers, received radio frequency signals are frequently a combination of signals, some received directly from a transmitting antenna and some reflected from stationary and/or moving objects. In the worst case, the received signals from the direct and alternate path signals combine at the receiving antenna to cause destructive interference. Such interference makes decoding of the signals more difficult. Further, in some instances, interference can reduce the amplitude of the received signals to a level that is too low for reliable decoding by the receiver. Such amplitude reduction is sometimes referred to as multi-path fading.

One technique for improving signal reception under multi-path fading and weak signal conditions includes the use of multiple antennas and receiver circuits in an antenna diversity system. In a multi-chip antenna diversity system, multiple tuner circuits that are tuned to particular frequencies receive program content (channel information) from more than one direction or at slightly different positions. Such antenna diversity systems typically include processor circuitry configured to combine signals from the different tuners to produce an enhanced signal or to select a particular signal from a tuner having the strongest signal output.

Diversity reception makes use of statistically independent signal streams to reduce the impact of severe multipath-related channel fading. Diversity reception can achieve good signal-to-noise-ratio and bit error rate (BER) performance over channels that exhibit substantial multipath interference, such as indoor wireless channels. However, digital communications between the multiple tuner circuits and associated processing circuitry can radiate spectral energy at radio frequencies to which one or more of the tuner circuits are tuned, further complicating signal reception.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a representative example of an antenna diversity system in one possible representative environment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an antenna diversity system configured to synchronize inter-chip link frames.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an embodiment of an inter-chip link frame including data transmitted between tuner chips through an inter-chip communication link of the antenna diversity system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a particular illustrative embodiment of an inter-chip link frame transmitted between tuner chips through an inter-chip communication link of the antenna diversity system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a table of digital signal processor frame offsets for an inter-chip link frame for different frame lengths.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram of a digital signal processor frame and an inter-chip link frame for a digital signal processor frame having a bit length of 1792 bits.

FIG. 7 is a partial block diagram and partial circuit diagram of an embodiment of a circuit including an inter-chip link transmitter circuit.

FIG. 8 is a state diagram illustrating a representative example of the operation of the inter-chip link transmitter circuit of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a partial block diagram and partial circuit diagram of an embodiment of a circuit including an inter-chip link receiver circuit.

FIG. 10 is a state diagram illustrating a representative example of the operation of the inter-chip link receiver circuit of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method of transmitting an inter-chip link frame from a second tuner circuit to a first tuner circuit through an inter-chip communication link.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method of providing an inter-chip link frame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

In an embodiment of an antenna diversity system, two or more uncorrelated antennas are spaced apart at a known distance and are configured to receive a radio frequency signal. The antenna diversity system includes two or more tuner circuits, where each tuner circuit is connected to a respective one of the two or more uncorrelated antennas and is configured to receive radio frequency signals within a particular frequency band or channel to which the tuner circuit is tuned. The tuner circuits are interconnected by inter-chip communications links and include inter-chip communications circuitry configured to communicate content from received radio frequency signals using inter-chip link frames.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a representative example of an antenna diversity system 100 in one possible representative environment out of many possible environments. The system 100 includes a base station or transmitting station 102 having an antenna 104 that is configured to transmit content through radio frequency signals 106. The content may include radio program content, television or multimedia program content, voice data, control information, other content, or any combination thereof.

The system 100 also includes a vehicle 112 that has an antenna diversity system including a first antenna 114 and a second antenna 116 to receive the radio frequency signal 106 and to receive reflected signals, such as reflected signal 110. The antenna diversity system within the vehicle 112 is configured to perform a selected antenna diversity operation on the radio frequency signal 106 and the reflected signal 110 to produce an output signal including the content from the signals 106 and 110, which content can be delivered to a speaker, a display device, a computer, a data storage device, another device, or any combination thereof.

In an embodiment, the antenna diversity system within the vehicle 112 is configured to tune to a particular radio frequency program, such as a radio station. As the vehicle 112 moves and the received radio frequency signals 106 and 110 vary, the antenna diversity system is adapted to constructively combine content from the radio signals 106 and 110 to provide substantially consistent reception and playback, for example, through a radio of the vehicle 112. In some instances, the antenna diversity system can be configured to scan for the program content on different radio frequencies and to switch to a different radio frequency channel to continue receiving the program content, when the signal quality is better on another radio frequency.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an antenna diversity circuit 200 configured to synchronize inter-chip link frames. The antenna diversity circuit 200 includes a first tuner circuit 202 connected to a first antenna 204 and a second tuner circuit 210 connected to a second antenna 212. The first and second tuner circuits 202 and 210 are connected through an inter-chip communication link 216, which may be a low-voltage differential signal link.

In the antenna diversity circuit 200, the first and second tuner circuits 202 and 210 are arranged in a daisy-chain configuration, where the first tuner circuit 202 is connected through a digital interface 208 to a data circuit 206, such as a host processor, digital logic, other circuitry, or any combination thereof. The second tuner circuit 210 is coupled to the data circuit 206 through the inter-chip communication link 216 and through the first tuner circuit 202. In the daisy-chain configuration, if other tuner circuits are added, the next tuner circuit would be connected to the data circuit 206 through another inter-chip communication link, the second tuner circuit 210, the inter-chip communication link 216, the first tuner circuit 202, and the digital interface 208.

The first tuner circuit 202 includes a radio frequency (RF) front end circuit 220 connected to the first antenna 204 to receive a radio frequency signal. The front end circuit 220 is connected to a synthesizer 232 to receive a clock signal and to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 222, which is connected to a digital signal processor (DSP) 224. The DSP 224 is connected to inter-chip communication circuitry, including an inter-chip (IC) link receiver circuit 226 and an IC link transmitter circuit 228. The IC link receiver circuit 226 is connected to the inter-chip communication link 216 to receive the inter-chip link frames 217. The DSP 224 is also connected to a frame counter 230, which is connected to the ADC 222 and to the IC link transmitter circuit 228. The first tuner circuit 202 also includes control circuitry 234, such as a micro-control unit (MCU), which is connected to the data circuit 206 through a control interface 209 and which is configured to control operation of the first tuner circuit 202.

The second tuner circuit 210 includes a RF front end circuit 240 connected to the second antenna 212 to receive a radio frequency signal. The front end circuit 240 is connected to a synthesizer 252 to receive a clock signal and to an ADC 242, which is connected to a DSP 244. The DSP 244 is connected to inter-chip communication circuitry, including an IC link receiver circuit 246 and an IC link transmitter circuit 248. The IC link transmitter circuit 248 is connected to the inter-chip communication link 216 to send data related to received RF signals within IC link frames 217 to the first tuner circuit 202. The DSP 244 is also connected to a frame counter 250, which is connected to the ADC 242 and to the IC link transmitter circuit 248. The second tuner circuit 210 also includes control circuitry 254, such as an MCU, which is connected to the data circuit 206 through a control interface 214 and which is configured to control operation of the second tuner circuit 210.

The antenna diversity circuit 200 further includes a reference clock 218, which is connected to the first and second tuner circuits 202 and 210 to provide a clock signal. In an embodiment, the frequency of the clock signal produced by the reference clock 218 is programmable and is selected so that the clock frequency and its harmonics are outside of a frequency band to which the tuner circuits 202 and 210 are tuned.

In an embodiment, the first and second tuner circuits 202 and 210 can include the same circuit components, but the first and second tuner circuits 202 and 210 are independently controllable by the data circuit 206 through control interfaces 209 and 214. Further, while two tuner circuits (first and second tuner circuits 202 and 210) are depicted, the antenna diversity circuit 200 can include any number of tuner circuits, depending on the implementation.

In an embodiment, the synthesizers 232 and 252 receive the clock signal from the reference clock 218 and produce clock signals, which are used by the RF front end circuits 220 and 240 to mix with received radio frequency signals to produce intermediate frequency (IF) signals. As used herein, the term “IF signal” refers to a signal at any suitable intermediate frequency, such as low IF or zero IF. The IF signals are digitized by the ADCs 222 and 242 and digitized versions of the IF signals are provided to DSPs 224 and 244, respectively. The DSPs 224 and 244 are configured to process the digitized versions of the IF signals.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the second tuner circuit 210 is connected to the first tuner circuit 202, but the IC link receiver circuit 246 is not connected to any other tuner circuit. Accordingly, the DSP 244 generates signal metrics associated with the digitized version of the IF signal, and provides the digitized version of the IF signal and the associated signal metrics to the IC link transmitter circuit 248.

The IC link transmitter circuit 248 supports multiple channels to transfer the digitized version of the IF signal, the associated quality metrics (such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), receive signal strength indicator (RSSI), other quality metrics, etc.), digital audio data for switched antenna diversity and alternate frequency scan modes, and control data. The IC transmitter circuit 248 is coupled to the control circuit 254 to receive the control data and is configured to send the control data to the control circuit 234 of the first tuner circuit 202. The IC transmitter circuit 248 is configured to assemble the digitized version of the IF signal or digital audio data, the associated quality metrics, and the control data into one or more IC link frames 217. Each IC link frame 217 includes a start symbol and DSP offset information, which can be used to synchronize the first tuner circuit 202 to the same DSP frame timing. Since the DSPs 224 and 244 process the IF samples in batches within DSP frames, the DSP frame at the first tuner circuit 202 is synchronized to the DSP frame of the second tuner circuit 210 based on the synchronization portion of the IC link frame 217.

The reference clock 218 allows the IC link transmitter circuit 248 and the IC link receiver circuit 226 to have the same clock frequency, which simplifies tuning of the first and second tuner circuits 202 and 210 to the same frequency band or channel and which simplifies data recovery. Further, since the clock signal is not sent from the second tuner circuit 210 to the first tuner circuit 202 over the IC communication link 216, the number of pins needed to support clock interconnect wiring is reduced. Additionally, radiated noise due to clock switching is reduced.

The IC link transmitter circuit 248 generates an IC link frame 217 that includes multiple channels to carry the signal data, the quality metrics, and the control data. Additionally, each frame includes a synchronization portion that is used by the IC link receiver circuit 226 to synchronize the DSP frames. The operation of the IC link transmitter circuit 248 is discussed in detail below with respect to FIGS. 7 and 8.

The IC link receiver circuit 226 receives data via the IC link frame 217, decodes the frame, and provides the signal data, the quality metrics, the synchronization information, to the DSP 224 to process the received signal data with a digitized version of the IF signal from the ADC 222. Further, the IC link receiver circuit 226 provides control information to the control circuit 234, which controls operation of the DSP 224. The operation of the IC link receiver circuit 226 is discussed in detail below with respect to FIGS. 9 and 10.

In general, the DSPs 224 and 244 are controlled by control circuits 234 and 254, respectively, to process the signal data according to a selected operating mode, such as a phase diversity mode, a switching antenna mode, or an alternate frequency scan mode. In a phase diversity mode, the digital signal processor 224 synchronizes DSP frames including the digitized version of the IF signal and signal data within the IC link frame 217 from the IC communication link 216, and performs maximal ratio combining or other similar digital signal processing techniques to coherently combine the IF signal from first and second tuner circuits 202 and 210 and to provide the combined signal to the data circuit 206 through a digital interface 208.

In a switching antenna mode, the first and second tuner circuits 202 and 210 operate independently, and the signal reception is improved by continuously monitoring the signal quality metrics calculated from the digitized version of the IF signal as compared to the IF signal metrics received within the IC link frames 217 from the IC communication link 216. In this operating mode, the DSP 224 is configured to select between the signal from the first antenna 204 and the signal from the second antenna 212 based on the signal metrics and to provide the stronger signal to the data circuit 206 through the digital interface 209.

In an alternate frequency scan mode, the data circuit (host processor) 206 controls the first and second tuner circuits 202 and 210 to use the IC communication link 216 to continue listening to a selected one of the first and second tuners 202 and 210 having the strongest signal and controls the other tuner to tune to the same content in another frequency band to check the associated signal quality metrics. Depending on the results, the data circuit (host processor) 206 may decide to control the first and second tuners 202 and 210 to operate in phase diversity mode or switched antenna diversity mode at the new frequency.

As mentioned above, the digitized version of the IF signal from the second tuner circuit 210 can be communicated to the first tuner circuit 202 through the inter-chip communication link 216 using IC link frames 217. The structure of the IC link frame 217 is discussed below in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an embodiment of an IC link frame 217 including IF data transmitted between tuner chips of the antenna diversity system of FIG. 2. The IC link frame 217 has a programmable width configured to carry a number of bits (N). The IC link frame 217 includes a frame synchronization field 302, a data samples field 304, a status samples field 306, and a control field 308.

The frame synchronization field 302 includes two 10-bit symbols, including a start symbol 310 and a DSP count offset symbol 312. In an example where the IC link frame 217 includes data samples encoded using 8-bit/10-bit encoding, the start symbol 306 is a frame start synchronization symbol called a K28.5 comma that is sent at the start of every DSP frame. Eight-bit/ten-bit encoding (sometimes called 8-bit/10-bit or 8b/10b encoding) is a line code that maps 8-bit symbols to 10-bit symbols to achieve DC-balance and bounded disparity, while providing sufficient state changes to allow reasonable clock recovery. In other words, the difference between the count of 1 s and 0 s in a string of at least 20 bits is no more than 2. Further, there are not more than five 1 s or 0 s in a row, which helps to reduce the demand for a lower bandwidth limit of the channel necessary to transfer a signal. In this scheme, eight bits of data are transmitted as a 10-bit entity called a symbol, or character. The low 5 bits of data are encoded into a 6-bit group (a 5b/6b portion) and the top three bits are encoded into a 4-bit group (the 3b/4b portion). These code groups are concatenated together to form the 10-bit symbol that can be transmitted over a communication link, such as the IC communication link 216.

In this example, the DSP count offset symbol 308 is a scrambled, 8-bit/10-bit coded version of the eight least significant bits from the DSP frame counter 230. The DSP count offset symbol 308 is included within the synchronization portion 302 of each IC link frame 217 immediately following the start symbol 306.

The data samples field 304 is configured to carry a high bandwidth data stream. The data samples field 304 has a programmable bandwidth. The data samples field 304 includes in-phase data 314 and quadrature data 316. When operating in a phase diversity mode, the data samples field 304 carries the DSP IF data stream or other types of DSP data in other operating modes.

The status samples field 306 has a programmable bandwidth. The status samples field 306 carries in-phase and quadrature data 318 and 320, such as signal metrics or other data. In the phase diversity mode and in the switching antenna mode, the status samples field 306 carries the signal metrics for the IF data in the data samples field 304. In an alternate frequency scan mode, the status samples field 306 may also carry other types of data, such as the demodulated audio data, which can be provided, for example, from the second tuner circuit 210 to the data circuit 206 through the first tuner circuit 202.

The control field 308 is a low bandwidth control channel or field that carries micro-control unit (MCU) control packets. The start and end of the MCU control packets can occur within any IC link frame 217. The control field 308 carries a micro-control unit (MCU) byte 0/idle byte 322 and MCU bytes/idle bytes, which may carry control data to control operation of the receiving tuner circuit. For example, the control data may be sent from the second tuner circuit 210 within the control field 308 of the IC link frame 217 to control operation of the first tuner circuit 202. The control field or channel 308 is synchronized to the IC link frame, but the information contained in the control field 308 is asynchronous to the information contained in the data and status fields in the IC link frame 217. Further, the control field 308 is included within the IC link frame 217 after the data streams are sent. The control data can be sent over multiple IC link frames 217.

To combine signals and/or to compare signal strengths effectively within the DSP of the first tuner circuit 202, synchronization of the DSP frame of the first tuner circuit 202 to that of the second tuner circuit 210 is important. In an embodiment, IC link receiver 226 of the first tuner synchronizes the DSP frame counter 230 to the second tuner's DSP frame counter 250 by acting on the frame synchronization fields 302 which it receives from the second tuner's IC link transmitter 248.

It should be understood that the DSP frame can be any integer number of clock cycles in length. The period of the clock is the same length as each bit period of the data that is being sent across the IC link 216.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a particular illustrative embodiment of an inter-chip link frame 400 transmitted between tuner chips through an inter-chip communication link of the antenna diversity system of FIG. 2. The IC link frame 400 includes a start symbol and a DSP frame offset 312. Further, the first data field 304 includes a programmable number of in-phase (I) DSP data words 314 and quadrature (Q) DSP data words 316. Further, the second data field 306 includes in-phase and quadrature signal metrics 318 and 320. Finally, the control field 308 includes an MCU Byte 0/idle byte 322 and control data 324, including commands and instructions configurable to control operation of the first tuner circuit 202.

In some instances, such as where the first tuner circuit 202 is configured to perform an alternate frequency scan operation (scanning a frequency that is different from the frequency to which the second tuner circuit 210 is tuned), the second data field 306 includes demodulated in-phase and quadrature audio data from the second tuner circuit.

FIG. 5 is a table 500 of digital signal processor frame offsets for an IC link frame 217 for different DSP frame lengths. In this example, the IC transmitter circuit 248 uses an 8-bit/10-bit encoding scheme. Accordingly, the IC link frame 217 consists of an integer number of 8b10b symbols; therefore, the bit length of the IC link frame 217 is always a multiple of 10. To account for the case where the number of bit clock cycles in a DSP frame is not a multiple of 10, a DSP offset is included to synchronize the DSP frames to account for the size difference of the IC link frame 217.

In the case where the number of bit clock cycles in a DSP frame is also an integer multiple of 10, the synchronization is achieved by using start symbol 310 of the IC link frame 217 to synchronize the DSP frames on both tuner circuits. The second tuner circuit 210 masters the IC communication link 216 and controls the first tuner circuit 202 to synchronize its DSP frame to the start symbol 310 of the IC link frame 217. After adjusting for latency of the IC communication link 216, the two DSP frames can be synchronized within the DSP 224 of the first tuner circuit 202.

In the more general case where the DSP frame length is not an integer multiple of 10, the start symbol 310 of the IC link frame 217 includes a non-zero DSP count offset 312 to define the offset between the IC link frame 217 and the start of the DSP frame of the first tuner circuit 202. To ensure that the DSP frame pulses on the first tuner circuit 202 are within one clock cycle from the transmitted DSP frame pulse, the bit offset 312 of the start symbol 310 of the IC link frame 217 relative to the DSP frame pulse is sent within each IC link frame 217. Within the first tuner circuit 202, the received DSP 312 offset is adjusted for latency of the IC communication link 216 and is then loaded into the DSP frame counter 230.

If N is the length of the DSP frame in clock cycles of the IC communication link 216, then after K numbers of DSP frames, the IC link frame offset 312 can be calculated according to the following equation:

IC Link Frame Offset 312=(K*(10−(N mod 10)) mod 10  (Equation 1)

In Equation 1, the variable (K) represents a number of DSP frames, which number may be provided by a DSP frame counter, such as the DSP frame counter 250 (depicted in FIG. 2 and in FIG. 7). As shown in the table 500, the IC link frame offset 312 relative to the DSP frame remains always between 0 and 9 and changes from frame to frame-depending on the DSP frame length. Further, the IC link frame offset 312 depends only on the least significant digit of the frame length (N mod 10). Moreover, the IC link frame offset 312 is periodic with a period of at most 10° C. link clock cycles.

Selecting a particular example, for a DSP frame of 1791 bits, the DSP frame is nine bits away from the next multiple of 10 (i.e. 1800 bits). Accordingly, the first IC link frame 217 has an offset 312 of zero. The second IC link frame has an offset of nine. The third IC link frame has an offset of eight, and so on.

It should be understood that, in the example provided in FIG. 5, the number of bits (N) is just one example out of many possible examples. The number (N) could be any number, since the offset depends on the modulus of N relative to the base number of the coding scheme (e.g., N mod 10).

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram 600 of digital signal processor frames 602 and IC link frames 217 for a digital signal processor frame having a bit length of 1792 bits. The digital signal processor frames 602 include first, second, and fifth frames 604, 606, and 608. The IC link frames 217 include a first IC link frame 614 that includes a zero offset, a second IC link frame 616 including an eight-bit offset, and a fifth IC link frame 618 including a two-bit offset.

FIG. 7 is a partial block diagram and partial circuit diagram of a circuit 700 including the embodiment of a inter-chip link transmitter circuit 248 depicted in FIG. 2. The circuit 700 includes the IC link transmitter circuit 248 coupled to the control circuit (MCU) 254 through an MCU control buffer 702 and coupled to the DSP 244 through DSP data buffers 704 and 706. Additionally, the IC link transmitter circuit 248 is connected to the DSP frame counter 250. The DSP frame counter 250 is a programmable counter that generates a DSP frame signal, which synchronizes the start time of the IC link transmitter circuit 248 to other DSP blocks.

The circuit 700 further includes the synthesizer 252, which is connected to a re-clock circuit 708. The re-clock circuit 708 is connected to the IC link transmitter circuit 248 to receive a serial output data stream and is connected to a low-voltage differential signal (LVDS) driver circuit 710 to transmit IC link frames 217 to the first tuner circuit 202 over the IC communication link 216.

The IC link transmitter circuit 248 includes a control circuit 714, which is a timing control circuit that controls operation of the IC link transmitter circuit 248. The control circuit 714 is connected to the DSP frame counter 250 to receive frame count information. The control circuit 714 is also connected to MCU control buffer 702 and to data buffers 704 and 706 to control the transfer of information from the buffers to a first multiplexer 712. The control circuit 714 is also connected to a selection input of the first multiplexer 712 to control the multiplexer selections.

The control circuit 714 is connected to a synchronization pattern insertion circuit 720, which inserts a synchronization pattern at the beginning of every DSP frame. In an embodiment, the synchronization pattern is a K27 synchronization pattern.

The control circuit 714 controls the first multiplexer 712 to select the appropriate data to be sent in a current field of the IC link frame 217. For the case of DSP data, the data words from the second tuner circuit 210 are disassembled into bytes by the IC link transmitter circuit 248. The DSP words can be 2-bytes or 3-bytes wide.

The output of the first multiplexer 712 is provided to data scrambler 716, which is controlled by the control circuit 714. The data scrambler 716 performs data scrambling on the data byte to be transmitted using a 15-bit polynomial: x̂15+x̂14+1. The data scrambler 716 is included to whiten the spectral density of signals transmitted through the IC communication link 216, reducing radiated spectral energy that can interfere with reception at the RF front end circuit 240. The data scrambler 716 provides the scrambled output to a second multiplexer 718, which is controlled by control circuit 714.

The second multiplexer 718 receives the scrambled output from the data scrambler 716 and a synchronization pattern from the synchronization pattern insertion circuit 720. The control circuit 714 controls the second multiplexer 718 to provide an appropriate output to an eight-bit to ten-bit (8-bit/10-bit) encoder 722.

The 8-bit/10-bit encoder 722 encodes data bytes into 10 bit symbols using 8b/10b linear coding, which provides unique symbols that can be used for framing and which includes sufficient data state transitions to facilitate data recovery as well as the ability to detect many types of errors.

The 8-bit/10-bit encoder 722 provides the encoded data to serializer 724, which is controlled by control circuit 714 to provide the serial output to the re-clock circuit 708. The serializer 724 loads the coded 10 bit symbols every symbol boundary, and shifts the data serially to the output at a rate determined by the IC link clock.

The re-clock circuit 708 uses a clock signal from synthesizer 252 (a local oscillator clock), which also clocks the mixer within the RF front end circuit 240. The re-clock circuit 708 re-clocks the serialized, scrambled data. The clock frequency used by the re-clock circuit 708 can be selected to place spectral nulls in the output power spectrum of the output signal at a desired frequency and its harmonics. The desired frequency can be the IF frequency or the radio frequency channel to which the tuner circuits 202 and 210 are tuned. The re-clock circuit 708 provides the re-clocked serial signal to the LVDS driver 710, which converts the single ended digital signal from the re-clock circuit 708 into a low voltage differential signal for transmission over the IC communication link 216.

In operation, a programmable number of stereo DSP data words are read every DSP frame from the transmit DSP data buffer 704 in the second tuner circuit 210 and are written three DSP samples later in a receive DSP data buffer 902 (depicted in FIG. 9) within the first tuner circuit 202. Additionally, a programmable number of stereo DSP data words are read every DSP frame from the transmit DSP data buffer 706 in the second tuner circuit 210 and written 3 DSP samples later in the receive DSP data buffer 906 (depicted in FIG. 9) within the first tuner circuit 202. In an example, the DSP data words are “written 3 DSP samples later” refers to a position in the receiving DSP data buffer 906 relative to the position of the data word in the transmit DSP data buffer 706. After the MCU 254 writes the control packet to the MCU control buffer 702, the MCU 254 enables the packet transmission by setting a control bit in an IC TX control register within control circuit 714.

FIG. 8 is a state diagram 800 illustrating a representative example of the operation of the inter-chip link transmitter circuit of FIG. 7. Within the state diagram 800, the state machine is at an idle state 816 prior to receipt of a DSP frame start from DSP frame counter 250, after a reset, or after all data and control bytes have been sent. In this state, 0x00 bytes are scrambled, 8b10b encoded, and loaded into the serializer 724.

The state machine transitions to a start state 802 when the beginning of a DSP frame is detected. In this state the K28.5 symbol, which indicates the start of IC link frame 217, is loaded into the serializer 724. Then, the state machine transitions next to the offset state 804. In the offset state 804, the DSP counter offset 312 is scrambled then loaded to the serializer 724. Then, the state machine transitions next to the stream 1 state 806.

When the state machine transitions to the stream 1 state 806, the data byte counter is loaded with the number of data bytes to be sent within the first data field or channel 304, and counts down after each byte is scrambled, 8b10b encoded, and loaded to the serializer 724. In the stream 1 state 806, data from the digitized version of the IF signal are placed within the data field 304 of the IC frame 217. When the byte counter reaches zero, the state machine transitions to a stream 2 state 808.

As the state machine transitions to the stream 2 state 808, the data byte counter is loaded with the number of data bytes to be sent using the second data field or channel 306, and counts down after each byte is sent. In this state, the IC link transmitter 248 loads the second data field 306 with appropriate data, such as signal quality metrics associated with the digitized version of the If signal. When the byte counter reaches zero, the state machine transitions to the start of packet (SOP) state 810 if the control field or channel 308 is enabled. Otherwise, the state machine transitions to the idle state 816.

In the start of packet state 810, the K.28.2 symbol is loaded into the serializer 724, and the state machine always transitions to the control state 812. As the state machine transitions to the control state 812, the control byte counter is loaded with the number of the remaining control bytes to be sent over the control channel 308. In this state, the control circuit 254 of the second tuner circuit 210 provides control data to the MCU control buffer 702, which control data can be multiplexed into the control field 308 of the IC link frame 217. In an example, the control data may be sent over multiple IC link frames 217.

When the control byte counter is zero, the state machine transitions to an end of packet state 814. In the end of packet state 814, the K.27.7 symbol is loaded into the serializer 724. The state machine then transitions to the idle state 816. The state machine continues to process DSP frames into IC link frames 217.

FIG. 9 is a partial block diagram and partial circuit diagram of an embodiment of a circuit 900 including an inter-chip link receiver circuit 226. The inter-chip receiver circuit 226 is connected to the DSP 224 through data buffers 902 and 904 and is connected to control circuit (MCU) 234 through MCU control buffer 906. Additionally, the inter-chip receiver circuit 226 is connected to IC communication link 216 through LVDS receiver circuit 908.

The LVDS receiver circuit 908 receives the low voltage differential signal (LVDS) on the IC communication link 216, amplifies it and converts to a single-ended digital signal. The LVDS receiver circuit 908 provides the singled-ended digital signal to a data recovery circuit 910, which recovers data from the LVDS input with the assumption that, on average, the bit rate of the received data is equal to the sampling clock frequency.

The data recovery circuit 910 is configured to operate in one of two modes: a low-jitter tracking mode and a high-jitter non-tracking mode. In the low-jitter tracking mode, a high-speed clock is used to generate a delayed version of the singled-ended digital signal. The data recovery circuit 910 clocks the delayed version and the single-ended digital signal with both rising and falling edges of a clock signal to produce four samples of the content of the singled-ended digital signal. The data recovery circuit 910 uses the four samples to detect the location of data transitions relative to the rising and falling edges of the clock signal. The data recovery circuit 910 uses the data transition information to select the particular sample that is furthest from a clock edge. If the phase error between the synthesizer 252 of the second tuner circuit 210 and the synthesizer 232 of the first tuner circuit 202 accumulates to the point where the sampled data becomes too close to the clock transitions, then the data recovery circuit 910 automatically selects another sampled data that is further from clock transitions without causing data errors.

In a high jitter non-tracking mode, the data recovery circuit 910 uses both edges of a high speed clock signal to delay the input through a tapped delay line and to detect rising and falling edges of an IC link clock (e.g., a clock signal from synthesizer 232). When the rising or falling edge of the IC link clock is detected, the data recovery circuit 910 locates the taps where data transitions occur within the IC link frame 217 relative to the clock transitions. After a couple of frames, the data recovery circuit 910 identifies the taps that exhibit no data transition and selects the tap which is the farthest from any data transition as the recovered data bit.

The data recovery circuit 910 is coupled to a start pattern detection circuit 918, which scans the recovered data for the occurrence of the unique K28.5 start symbol 310 or an inverted version of the start symbol. Once detected, the start pattern detection circuit 918 sends a synchronization signal to the control circuit 920 to synchronize a bit counter, which generates a signal at the end of every 10-bit symbol. Further, the control circuit 920 updates the DSP frame counter 924 with each received frame.

The control circuit 920 detects and verifies the frame synchronization and controls a de-serializer 912, a 10-bit/8-bit decoder 914, and a data descrambler 916 to provide a de-serialized, decoded, and de-scrambled version of the recovered data stream to a de-multiplexer 926, which is controlled by the control circuit 920 to selectively provide de-multiplexed data to the appropriate buffer for subsequent processing.

FIG. 10 is a state diagram 1000 illustrating a representative example of the operation of the inter-chip link receiver circuit of FIG. 9. In this embodiment, the state machine transitions only at the end of the reception of the 10 bit symbols.

The state machine transitions to a synchronization search state 1002 after a reset or when synchronization is lost. A loss of synchronization is detected if the start of frame symbol is not detected where it is expected. When the start of frame symbol (e.g., K28.5) is detected from the synchronization field 302 of the IC link frame 217, the state machine transitions to a synchronization start state 1004.

The state machine transitions to the offset state 1006 after the next 10 bit symbol, which carries the DSP frame offset, is detected. Upon receipt of the first start symbol after a reset or loss of frame synchronization, the state machine transitions to the synchronization verify state 1008. If the state machine is not synchronized, the state machine returns to the synchronization search state 1002. Otherwise, the state machine returns to the synchronization start state 1004.

Upon receipt of the next start symbol and the 10-bit offset symbol from the synchronization field 302 of the next IC link frame 217, the state machine transitions to the offset state 1006 and the DSP offset data 312 from the IC link frame 217 is used to align the data. The state machine then transitions to the stream 1 state 1010 in which the data byte counter is loaded with the number of data bytes to be received over the data samples field or channel 304, and counts down after each byte is received, de-scrambled, 8b10b de-coded, then loaded to the appropriate buffer. In this state, the IC link receiver circuit 226 unpacks the first data field 304 of the IC link frame 217. When the byte counter reaches zero, the state machine transitions to a stream 2 state 1012.

As the state machine transitions to the stream 2 state 1012, the data byte counter is loaded with the number of data bytes to be received over the status samples field or channel 306, and counts down after each byte is received. In this state, the IC link receiver circuit 226 unpacks the second data field 306 of the IC link frame 217. When the byte counter reaches zero, the state machine transitions to the start of packet (SOP) state 1016 when a start of packet symbol (e.g., a K28.2 symbol) is detected and transitions to a control state 1018 at the end of the next symbol. Otherwise, the state machine transitions to an idle state 1014.

When the state machine transitions to the control state 1018, the state machine receives the control bytes and writes them to the control buffer 906 (depicted in FIG. 9), until the end of packet (EOP) symbol is detected. The control bytes can be used by the control circuit 234 of the first tuner circuit 202 to control operation of the DSP 224. Upon detection of the EOP symbol, the state machine transitions to the EOP state 1020 and then transitions to the idle state 1014.

In general, the IC link communication process involves both the IC link transmitter circuit 248 and the IC link receiver circuit 226, which are synchronized to the clock signal of the reference clock 218. The IC link frame 217 is sent from the second tuner circuit 210 to the first tuner circuit 202 through the IC communication link 216, unpacked at the first tuner circuit 226, and then processed using the DSP 224 according to the control data retrieved from the control field 308 of the IC link frame 217.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method of transmitting an inter-chip link frame from a second tuner circuit to a first tuner circuit through an inter-chip communication link. At 1102, a frame start symbol is inserted into a frame synchronization portion of an IC link frame. The frame start symbol may be a 10-bit start pattern that is inserted by a start pattern insertion circuit 720 through a multiplexer 718 based on instructions from a control circuit 714.

Continuing to 1104, a DSP offset is determined. In an embodiment, the DSP offset is determined based on a difference between a size of DSP frame and a size of the IC link frame. The difference is used to calculate the DSP offset. Proceeding to 1106, the DSP frame offset is inserted within the frame synchronization portion of the IC link frame after the frame start symbol.

Advancing to 1108, DSP frame data is inserted into a first data field of the IC link frame. In an example, the first data field is a data channel. The DSP frame data is data that is processed by a DSP of a tuner circuit based on a digitized version of an intermediate frequency signal derived from an RF signal received by an antenna. The DSP frame data can include both in-phase and quadrature components as well as signal quality metrics.

Moving to 1110, the signal quality metrics are inserted into a second data field of the IC link frame. The second data field can be a second data channel having a different bit rate as compared to the first data field or the control field.

Proceeding to 1112, control data is inserted into a control field of the IC link frame, where the control data is configured to control operation of the first tuner circuit. In an example, the control data can include commands that are intended to be executed by an MCU of the first tuner circuit.

Advancing to 1114, the IC link frame is communicated to the first tuner circuit through an IC communication link. In an embodiment, the IC link frame is provided to an LDVS driver circuit for transmission over the IC communication link.

In an example, the start symbol and the DSP offset can be detected by an IC link receiver circuit and used by a corresponding DSP to synchronize DSP frames prior to performing an antenna diversity operation. In a phase diversity mode, the synchronized DSP frames can be processed to combine the signals to produce a resulting output signal having enhanced signal strength and an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method of providing an inter-chip link frame. At 1202, a digital data stream and an associated quality metric are generated that are related to a radio frequency signal at a digital signal processor of a tuner circuit. Advancing to 1204, data start symbol pattern is inserted into a start field of an inter-chip link frame using an inter-chip transmitter circuit. In an example, the IC link transmitter circuit multiplexes a start pattern into a synchronization portion of an IC link frame.

Continuing to 1206, a portion of the digital data stream is inserted into a first data field of the inter-chip link frame using the inter-chip transmitter circuit. The portion may include one or more DSP frames or a portion of a DSP frame. Moving to 1208, at least a portion of the associated signal quality metric is inserted into a second data field of the inter-chip link frame using the inter-chip transmitter circuit. In an example, the associated quality metric of the one or more DSP frames or of the portion of the DSP frame may be inserted into the second data field. In an alternative embodiment where the first tuner circuit is in an alternate frequency scan mode, the inter-chip transmitter circuit can insert demodulated audio data into the second data field of the IC link frame. Moving to 1210, the IC link frame is transmitted to a first tuner circuit through an IC communication link to the first tuner circuit.

In conjunction with the circuits and methods disclosed herein, an IC transmitter circuit is disclosed to communicate DSP frame data between tuner circuits over an IC communication link using IC link frames having multiple channels or fields. A frame synchronization portion of each IC link frame includes a start symbol and a DSP offset, which can be used by a receiver circuit to synchronize DSP frame data from a second tuner circuit with DSP frame data within a first tuner circuit so that a DSP of the first tuner circuit can perform an antenna diversity operation on the synchronized DSP frames. Further each IC link frame includes encoded data related to a radio frequency signal, associated quality metrics, and control data. The IC transmitter circuit is configured to communicate the IC link frame to a first tuner circuit through an IC communication link.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A tuner circuit comprising: a digital signal processor to generate a digital data stream related to a radio frequency signal; and a transceiver circuit coupled to the digital signal processor and configurable to generate an inter-chip communication frame comprising a start portion and a plurality of channels, the plurality of channels including a first data channel to carry a portion of the digital data stream and including a control channel to carry control data, the transceiver circuit configurable to send the inter-chip communication frame to an additional tuner circuit through the inter-chip communication link.
 2. The tuner circuit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of channels have different bandwidths.
 3. The tuner circuit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of channels further comprises a second data channel configurable to carry a signal metric related to the portion of the digital data stream.
 4. The tuner circuit of claim 3, wherein information within the control channel is asynchronous relative to information carried by the first and second channels.
 5. The tuner circuit of claim 1, wherein the control channel is configurable to carry control packets to control operation of the additional tuner circuit.
 6. The tuner circuit of claim 1, wherein the start portion includes a frame start symbol and a counter offset to control the additional tuner circuit to synchronize a data stream at the additional tuner circuit to the digital data stream.
 7. The tuner circuit of claim 1, wherein each of the start portion and the plurality of channels has a bit length that is an integer multiple of ten.
 8. The tuner circuit of claim 1, wherein the transceiver circuit is configurable to scramble the portion of the digital data stream.
 9. A method comprising: generating a digital data stream and an associated signal quality metric related to a radio frequency signal at a digital signal processor of a tuner circuit; inserting a start symbol pattern into a start field of an inter-chip link frame using an inter-chip transmitter circuit; inserting a portion of the digital data stream into a first data field of the inter-chip link frame using the inter-chip transmitter circuit; inserting at least a portion of the associated signal quality metric into a second data field of the inter-chip link frame using the inter-chip transmitter circuit; and transmitting the inter-chip link frame to an additional tuner circuit through an inter-chip communication link.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein before inserting the portion of the digital data stream, the method further comprises scrambling the portion of the digital data stream using a data scrambler of the inter-chip transmitter circuit.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising encoding the portion of the digital data stream using an encoder of the inter-chip transmitter circuit.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising serializing the portion of the digital data stream using a serializer of the inter-chip transmitter circuit.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein transmitting the inter-chip link frame comprises re-clocking the inter-chip link frame using a synchronizer circuit to place a spectral null at a desired frequency and its harmonics.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing the inter-chip link frame to a low-voltage differential signal driver configurable to convert the inter-chip link frame into a low-voltage differential signal for transmission on the inter-chip communication link.
 15. The method of claim 9, further comprising inserting control data into a control field of the inter-chip link frame, the control data configurable to control operation of the additional tuner circuit.
 16. An inter-chip transmitter circuit comprising: a first multiplexer having a first input to receive a portion of a digital data stream related to a radio frequency signal, a second input to receive an associated signal metric, and a third input to receive control data; a second multiplexer having a first input to receive a start pattern and a second input coupled to an output of the first multiplexer; a control circuit configurable to control the first and second multiplexers to produce an inter-chip link frame including a start field to carry a symbol related to the start pattern, a first data field to carry a symbol related to the portion of the digital data stream, a second data field to carry signal data, and a control field to carry the control data; and a driver circuit configurable to send the inter-chip link frame to an additional tuner circuit through an inter-chip communication link.
 17. The inter-chip transmitter circuit of claim 16, wherein the driver circuit comprises a low-voltage differential signal driver to convert the inter-chip link frame into a differential signal.
 18. The inter-chip transmitter circuit of claim 16, wherein the first data field and the second data field have programmable bandwidths.
 19. The inter-chip transmitter circuit of claim 16, wherein the second data field is configurable to carry a demodulated version of the portion of the digital data stream for an alternate frequency scan application.
 20. The inter-chip transmitter circuit of claim 16, wherein the second data field is configurable to carry the associated signal metric for a phase diversity application.
 21. The inter-chip transmitter circuit of claim 16, wherein the control field is asynchronous to the portion of the digital data stream.
 22. The inter-chip transmitter circuit of claim 16, further comprising a data scrambler to scramble the portion of the digital data stream and the associated signal metric before inserting the digital data stream and the associated signal metric into the first and second data fields, respectively. 